Soft and Bittersweet
by Rosabella98
Summary: After Silas and the crazy witches, Caroline realizes that she left her heart somewhere else... Two shot, AU after 5x07.


**A/N this is set vaguely season 5, with spoilers up to 5x05. A quick two shot that is also posted on AO3**

College life wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. Sure, the parties and the freedom away from little Mystic Falls were all that she had longed for ever since she could remember. In the past couple years alone, after the Salvatores had rolled in to town with the death and destruction following in their wake, the idea of how things might change once she reached that milestone had sustained her through horrors and losses. Now, to put it plainly, she was bored. She missed the adrenaline rush that came with holding death at bay for another day, of fighting alongside her friends, and certain British accent with baby blue- no, she promised herself she wouldn't think of him, no more. It seemed that the further away she was from him, the more time that passed since their playful-almost-but-not-quite flirtatious encounters, the less could she lie to herself. Maybe it was the freedom of college or the boredom of her almost-normal life (you know, when she could forget her roommate's murder or her own nature) but she had found herself gazing off in the distance more and more often, always looking South, towards a certain city in which a certain bad, bad hybrid was just waiting for her to show her the world. How could she stop wondering, after his voice mail and the way he had come back to the little town that had robbed him of two siblings and almost his life just to bid her goodbye. A soft sigh escaped Caroline's lips as she thought back to their goodbye.

_Now you kiss my cheek._

He smelled good, a mix of earthiness and spices, wrapped up in a certain ancient note that was just Klaus. It smelled safe, so different from the image he worked so hard to uphold. To everyone except her, that is. She doesn't remember their faces ever being so close, their mouth just a small twist of her head away. Caroline cannot move though, even if she wanted to. Her eyes, her whole soul it seemed, were big held captive by the never ending ice pools that never failed to mesmerize her. A glint of gold peeked just beneath the blue of Klaus' eyes, never failing to remind her of the demons that haunted this complex man in front of her, his other side that was an ever present shadow to the charming gentleman. Strangely, at that particular moment in time, she could not for the life of her remember any of the many reasons she had for hating the man in front of her, all the terrible things he had done to her friends and strangers alike. All she wanted was to twist her head to the side, closing the small distance between their mouths.

_Soft and bittersweet_

His lips brushed her cheek, ever so softly, just barely a warm whisper against her skin before cold air. It was really a caress, a silent promise. He was saying goodbye, at least for the moment. Their earlier jokes were gone, a solemn seriousness descending on both of them. Their relationship would be irrevocably different now, with his family in New Orleans (of course she knew of his child, Elijah had called her and explained the delicate situation. She had been mad, a little hurt, and yes, even the tiniest bit jealous, but in the end, she could not fault him for it.) Who knew how much time would pass between their next meeting? And however much Caroline might try to pretend she would not miss the charming hybrid, she would be lying to herself. Nobody in Mystic Falls- or even nearby Whitmore College- could match his old world gallantry, his mischievous streak, his complexity, his unique love for her. Bittersweet was the only way to describe their goodbye.

_I can read it in your eyes_

In the days and weeks following their moment in the stadium, Caroline kept going back over his eyes. Always expressive, always telling, that day they shone differently, candidly, his feelings for her written all over. They had teased gently when asking what she wanted for a graduation present (she should have known he'd remember), yet had drunk in her profile in the low half-light of the setting sun in the stadium, the bodies of the dead witches all forgotten behind them. Now, she realized how much she had come to rely on the hybrid, on his ability to rescue her if everything ever went wrong. He had promised to wait for her, knowing that their time was not yet ripe, yet how could he really wait for her for however long it took for her to be ready?

_Baby, this is our goodbye_

It was too late, too late to wish she had done something differently, said something else. A part of her had almost wished he had asked, given her that ticket to New Orleans. But she knew herself- moreover, she knew Klaus too well- when the time came for her to join him, it would be all or nothing. There was never going to be an in-between for the two of them, no matter how much she would have liked to kid herself in the months since her fateful birthday. Goodbye it had to have been, at least for now. Neither of them was yet ready for what it meant to be all in, or maybe both of them were too scared to listen to the part of them that was.

* * *

Her biology homework lay on the other side of the bed, forgotten for the moment as she tried to make sense of her life. The mini fridge that had shown up at her backdoor at the beginning of August with a big red bow and no note- did she really need confirmation of who it was from? was staring back at her almost accusingly, pictures of her life stuck on there. She was alone in her dorm, Elena off to deal with the latest crisis in Mystic Falls and Stefan in class (he had decided to enroll last week after her multiple hints and pushes). Tyler was long gone, either in New Orleans (and most likely dead) or back to his so called pack in the Appalachians she was not sure, nor did she really care. That chapter in Caroline's life was done, closed shut. Stefan had been a rock to her in the past few weeks as he helped her overcome both her grief at Bonnie's death and the sadness at her breakup. He had been the only thing keeping her from shutting the switch, the first time she'd been tempted to in her life as a vampire. Stefan had also been the only true friend she'd had, despite his lack of memories; he had still been there for her every step of the way, just like he'd been since her transition. Elena had been too busy, in and out of Mystic Falls, and too wrapped up in her own grief to care that Caroline too had lost a friend. It was funny, looking back now at her short eighteen years, she could count the people that had really been there on the fingers of one hand: her mother (well, most of the time), Bonnie, Stefan, Matt, and, well Klaus.

Bonnie was gone, her life wasted between one magical problem and the next, always at Elena's beck and call, till she had finally paid the ultimate price. Stefan too had gone from one problem to the next; never caring if the next time might be his last just as long as Elena herself was safe. Caroline had been beside them all along, never protesting her role because she had never known any different. But now, she wondered, what if? What if for once they did something different, something not for Elena, but for themselves? What if instead of tiny Whitmore College, she took out that acceptance letter from Tulane and transferred?

Stefan wouldn't mind, that much she knew. His lack of memories meant he had no clue of his complicated history with Elena, nothing but the smallest twinge of attraction toward the doppelganger. Bonnie was gone, somewhere that none would ever reach her again, and her mother had her work to keep her busy. Matt was the only one of the people she really cared about who might protest in her leaving, try and talk her out of it. Elena would be too wrapped up in Damon and Silas to even try to talk to, but nonetheless would hunt Caroline down once she discovered what she had done. It was time for Caroline to do what she wanted for once, not what was best for Elena.

A couple phone calls and a note to Stefan later and Caroline was in her little car, just a couple suitcases tucked in the back as she drove down the southbound highway. Whitmore College was actually north of Mystic Falls, and due to the lateness of her start, Caroline planned on spending the night in the little town she had grown up in. Seeing familiar landmarks flash by, she stopped outside the Mystic Grill, hoping to catch Matt at the end of his shift. Margaret sat her down a table and brought her the usual wedge salad and strawberry lemonade that Caroline had ordered ever since she was a kid.

"Margaret, is Matt working tonight?" she asked.

"Yes, he should just be finishing up? Shall I tell him you're here?" The waitress asked with a smile. Margaret had grown up down the street from Caroline, just a few years older, and thus knew all the Mystic Falls gang. Caroline just gratefully smiled at the other girl, and dug hero her salad. In no time at all, familiar blue eyes and broad shoulders walked towards her, picking her right up from her seat and swung her around.

"Care! What are you doing here?" Matt asked, when they finally broke apart.

"Just passing through, and I wanted to talk to you." Caroline replied as Margaret came back with a soda and burger for Matt.

"Sure, shoot." Matt said with an easy going grin as he leaned back in the booth. He turned his devastatingly handsome blue eyes on her in a way that Caroline knew from experience meant she had his undivided attention.

"I don't really know how to say it, I mean I guess it's been coming for a while… I'm transferring to Tulane." Caroline said in a rush of words, unable to refer to her real reason for transferring aloud. She had never been one to waste time on pleasantries while there were serious matters to be discussed, and this was no exception. Matt didn't say anything at all, just stared at her with a serious expression in his blue eyes.

"When are you heading down to New Orleans?" he finally asked.

"Tomorrow morning. I'm going to sleep at my mom's tonight and pick up some things I left behind and wait for Stefan to catch up."

"Why are you telling me all of this, Caroline? Are you asking for my blessing? Because that's something I don't know if I'll ever be able to give to Klaus of all people. Unless…" Matt said, naming the till then unspoken connotation of Caroline's decision.

"I guess that is why I came here, but also to ask advice. What could I do to let you give Klaus at least a chance?" Caroline asked.

"Let me come with you and see the glimmer of hope that you see within him." Matt said, leaning back as Caroline stole a couple of his fries.

"Come with me? To New Orleans? But what about Mystic Falls and-and Elena?" Caroline asked, perplexed.

"Mystic Falls has long been more of a prison than a home for me, and recently its just become so stifling. I don't want you to go to New Orleans by yourself, moreover, because you're my friend, and it's long past time for someone to put you first." Matt said. "Plus, you are going to need someone to protect your virtue from unwanted admirers in the big city." He joked with a devastating smile, and Caroline was lost.

"Thank you, Matt." Caroline said touched, covering his hand with hers.

* * *

The next morning, they were off bright and early, Caroline driving her little blue car with Stefan sitting beside her and Matt sleeping in the backseat buried in a pile of luggage. New confidence filled her spirit, knowing that in some way, she was fulfilling her destiny. The hours flew by as they laughed and talked, an unseen weight coming off their shoulders. The small group in the car only quieted down as the car slowly slowed down as they reached the city limits of New Orleans, caught in the stifling traffic of the city. Caroline did nothing to actively seek out Klaus's house, knowing that hybrid eyes would be on them the moment they passed the limits of the city, if not all the way from Mystic Falls. Instead, she drove a roundabout way to the cute little apartment next to the Tulane campus she had compelled them and unpacked the car. She was not in the slightest surprised when Stefan and Matt hung back as they found the door open, nor was she surprised when somebody was in the living room. After all, this was the real reason she was here, wasn't she?

"Hello." Caroline said. They had had their goodbye, their ending because to have a beginning you must have an ending. And now this was their beginning, the beginning of Klaus and Caroline instead of two separate beings. A quite simple word, hello, for the meaning it conveyed. "I'm here." She echoed, and lost herself in the twin pools of love in his blue eyes as he opened his arms for her.


End file.
